Here is the story it is long, but I am in dire need for some answers.... I bought a 98 Chevy K3500. 6.5 Turbo diesel, 192k. When I Bought it it had the water in fuel light on. The guy I bought it from said it stayed on after he got some bad fuel on his way back from w long road trip. He said it came on and he didn't notice any difference in the power. He said he drained and purged the fuel system and changed the filter. He said he just was not able to reset the trouble light. I took his word for it, cause the truck ran fine. I reset the water in fuel light when I got home with my ELM code reader. The next day I tried starting it, and it would not start for anything. It was not cold at all, probobly 55 degrees out. It would turn over and over, but not fire up. With all that I had I resisted the urge for using starter fluid. Well, I had the truck parked on the street, and was worried about getting a ticket for having it parked too long, so I had to start it. I used a small amount of starter fluid and it started. So since I was able to get it started that day, I decided to go out for a drive and see how it ran. About after 15 minutes of driving the service engine soon light came on and I noticed power didn't seem as good as it did when I test drove it for the first time. I went home and looked it up. I got two codes: PO236- Turbo charger Boost sensor A Ciruit range/ performance PO251- Injection pump Fuel Metering COntrol A Malfuntion (CAM/ROTOR/Injector) I am new to diesel, but have worked on gassers for a long time. I just need to know where to start. What kind of things should I look for? Another note: It still will not start cold without starting fluid. After it is warm it will start up o.k. When it starts it smokes for about 20 seconds and then is fine. When it is running I hear a really loud knocking. From inside the truck I can hear a tickking that goes with the rpms, but goes away when I take my foor off of the accelerator. (Guy who sold it to me said that was the vaccum pump). Also, the glow plug light (WAIT TO START ENGINE) Light goes on and off intermitantly when starting it (After letting it clear before starting it) I guess if anyone know what I should check first, and kind of give me a flow-chart of things to trouble shoot so I am not just buying parts and replacing them for no reason. Thanks for looking

Read more: https://www.dieselbombers.com/newthr...#ixzz0i1OQ3cEx

 

Well first thing, you got bad glow plugs. Second, you took his word that he drove it with the water in fuel light on, along with bad fuel, and it had no difference in power. I call total BS on that. Gonna have to cycle the electric fuel pump, or run compressed air and purge all the fuel out of the tank, add 10 gallons of fresh with bio-cide (to get rid if any algae in the tank), purge it, then fill up with fresh fuel again with Stanadyne to regain the lubricity. Change out the fuel filter, then purge the air out to the injection pump. Replace all the glow plugs, then see how it starts and runs.

 

Ok. sounds like a got a bit on my plate for today. I did get new glow plugs, and a relay, figured that should be replaced with the plugs as well. I will be doing this all today or tomorow. Hopefully all of this work makes it start and run better. What about the codes, are these standard codes for getting water in the fuel? Also, what is stanodyne, is it something I should be adding to diesel all the time?

 

Well I did all of the flushing and putting in new fuel/filter/glow plugs/relay etc. I am still having trouble. The motor still has a hard time starting, bu I do not need satrter fluid now. Both codes are still active. Any have any other ideas as to what else could be giving me these codes?

 

STILL GOT THE CODES. I am hpoing someone will answer and at least tell me something!

 

The P0251 leans towards injection pump damage when the bad batch of fuel went through the system. You said when it starts it smokes, what color? White? Also, 6.5 injectors tend to get sloppy after 60-80k miles, so a new injection pump and injectors may be in your future.

 

Yea, it is white smoke. It still starts hard, but after it starts it runs o.k. Another thing, I forgot to mention was the cruise control does not work, is that and indication along with the two codes? I figured the injectors and pump would need to be replaced soon anyway. Anyone have any good luck with the guys who rebuild them on e-bay?

 

i think you have nasty timing problem. to time this thing your going to need some pump wrenches and a scan tool that is capable of timing the computer. a tech2 or computer software like autoenginity or car code. its cheaper to go to the stealership to let them time it because scanner and wrenches its going to be 400-500 bucks new.

also there is a optic sensor which reads the cam ring which can be smudged up by bad fuel. which again is another timing issue. computer doesnt know what the engine is doing so wierd things start happening and truck doesnt run right.

also there is a eletrical box on the side of your injection pump that gets signals from the computer and then it tells the ip what to do. well if it sits on the injection pump too long it gets heatstroke and it dies. common modification is to relocate it to behind the front bumper where its nice and cold. lasts a longer. your cruise control not working is a symptom of a dying pmd.

injectors are rated for 100K miles so you better get a history report on your vehicle to see if they have been replaced. they cause hard starting too.

injection pumps dont usually just fail and lots of trucks are running around with injection pumps that are newer than the truck because gm never realized the pmd was a problem they thought it was the injection pump so they just keep relplacing them.

next time you try to cold start the truck unplug the engine coolant sensor. its located on the front of the engine on the coolant crossover near your thermostats. i think its a three prong weatherpack connection. when you unplug it the ecm thinks its -40F out so the ecm advances the timing all the way. if it starts easier you know its a timing issue.

 

Thanks woody. I appreciate the help. I am on the road right now for work (I am an industrial mechanic/machinist), so I will not be able to tinker with the old beast for a couple of weeks. going to do some research while I am away. I was already thinking of relocating the New PMD I got. I went with the one with a #9 resistor. I will be mounting it behind the bumber like you said.

About the injectors, A guy I work with said it probobly was those. He used to work in a diesel repair shop rebuliding Perkins and cummins diesels. He said white smoke when starting is a sign that the springs are weak (in the injectors) and it is not giving enough fuel into the cylinder, when enough fuel gets in it turns over and is able to compensate with the increased RPM's.

I have a scanner, but am not sure what functions I have for it with the free software I use. It is an ELM clone that I personally built and I know it works. I might be able to get a hold of a good program out there to do some timing, as you think it might be that.

I will let you know what I find a couple of weeks from now. By the way, I dig your status, and agree %100

 

thanks ive been getting a lot of comments on my status. im not a computer whiz so i have no idea what the means but if you can get the computer to change the timing more power to you. im sure that injector theory is right but the reason for white smoke i have heard on 6.5s is that they leak fuel when its not running so when your starting it up your trying to burn unatomized fuel.

here is a guide to timing your truck. so whatever software you need to use i would make sure it can do all the things listed here

FYI: TDCO - Timing the DS4 Injection Pump - The Truck Stop

hope it all goes well.